Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the information collection request abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. PHMSA proposes revising certain parts of the forms and instructions for the Operator Assignment Request (PHMSA F 1000.1) and National Registry Notification (PHMSA F 1000.2) currently approved under OMB control number 2137-0627. A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the information collection was published on August 9, 2018.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

PHMSA has determined that the minimum random drug testing rate for covered employees will remain at 50 percent during calendar year 2019. Operators are reminded that drug and alcohol testing information must be submitted for contractors who are performing or are ready to perform covered functions. For calendar year 2018 reporting, the ``user name'' and ``password'' for the Drug and Alcohol Management Information System (DAMIS) will be available in the PHMSA Portal.

PHMSA is publishing this notice to seek public comments on a request for a special permit, seeking relief from compliance with certain requirements in the federal pipeline safety regulations. At the conclusion of the 30-day comment period, PHMSA will review the comments received from this notice as part of its evaluation to grant or deny the special permit request.

In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, this final rule provides the 2018 inflation adjustment to civil penalty amounts that may be imposed for violations of certain DOT regulations. This rule also finalizes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's and the Office of the Secretary's catch-up inflation adjustment interim final rules required by the same Act.

PHMSA is preparing to request Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the renewal, without change, of the information collection covering the Gas and Liquid Pipeline Safety Program Certifications currently approved under OMB control number 2137-0584. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA invites comments from affected agencies and members of the public on the information collection detailed below.

PHMSA is issuing an emergency waiver order to persons conducting operations under the direction of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 or United States Coast Guard (USCG) Eleventh District within the California Wildfire emergency area. The Waiver is granted to support the EPA and USCG in taking appropriate actions to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a threat to public health, welfare, or the environment caused by actual or potential oil and hazardous materials incidents resulting from the California Wildfires. This Waiver Order is effective immediately and shall remain in effect for 30 days from the date of issuance.

PHMSA is publishing this document to seek public comments on frequently asked questions (FAQs) developed to provide guidance on what constitutes sufficient justification for an operator to request a 6- month extension to a gas pipeline's 7-year integrity management reassessment interval. This guidance, which consists of one revised and two new FAQs, will implement authority granted by Congress in Section 5(e) of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 (2011 Act).

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

In this rulemaking, PHMSA is amending the Hazardous Materials Regulations in response to 19 petitions for rulemaking submitted by the regulated community to update, clarify, streamline, or provide relief from miscellaneous regulatory requirements. By adopting these deregulatory amendments, PHMSA is allowing more efficient and effective ways of transporting hazardous materials in commerce while maintaining an equivalent level of safety.

On July 13, 2018, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA published a notice in the Federal Register (83 FR 32710) inviting comments on a revision to form PHMSA F 7000-1.1Annual Report for Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Systems, which is currently collected under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 2137-0614. This information collection expires on October 31, 2018. During the public comment period, PHMSA received two comments in response to the proposed revision to this information collection. PHMSA is publishing this notice to respond to the comments received and to announce that the Information Collection Request will be submitted to OMB for approval.

PHMSA is issuing an emergency waiver order to persons conducting operations under the direction of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 or United States Coast Guard (USCG) Seventh or Eighth Districts within the Hurricane Michael emergency area of Georgia. The Waiver is granted to support the EPA and USCG in taking appropriate actions to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a threat to public health, welfare, or the environment caused by actual or potential oil and hazardous materials incidents resulting from Hurricane Michael. This Waiver Order is effective immediately and shall remain in effect for 30 days from the date of issuance.

PHMSA is publishing this notice to solicit public comment on a request for special permit, seeking relief from compliance with certain requirements in the Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations. At the conclusion of the 30-day comment period, PHMSA will review the comments received from this notice as part of its evaluation to grant or deny the special permit request.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

This notice announces that on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, PHMSA will host two public meetings. The first meetingled by PHMSA will solicit public input on current proposals and discuss potential new work items for inclusion in the agenda of the 54th session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNSCOE TDG). The second meetingled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)will discuss proposals in preparation for the 36th session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (UNSCEGHS). Time and Location: Both public meetings will be held at DOT Headquarters, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Conference Center, Washington, DC 20590-0001 on Tuesday, November 13, 2018. PHMSA Public Meeting: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. OSHA Public Meeting: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Registration: DOT requests that attendees pre-register for these meetings by completing the form at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ XGN8J7X. Attendees may use the same form to pre-register for both meetings. Failure to pre-register may delay access into the DOT Headquarters building. Additionally, if attending in person, please arrive early to allow time for clearing required building security checks. Conference call-in and ``Skype meeting'' capability will be provided for both meetings. Specific information about remote meeting access information will be posted when available at https:// www.phmsa.dot.gov/international-program/international-program -overview under ``Upcoming Events''.

PHMSA finds that California's meal and rest break requirements create an unnecessary delay in the transportation of hazardous materials, and are therefore preempted with respect to all drivers of motor vehicles that are transporting hazardous materials. The agency also finds that the California meal and rest break requirements are preempted with respect to drivers of motor vehicles that are transporting Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 explosive material and are subject to the attendance requirements of 49 CFR 397.5(a), because it is not possible for a motor carrier employer's drivers to comply with the off-duty requirement of the California rule and the federal attendance requirement. Finally, the California meal and rest break requirements are preempted as to motor carriers who are required to file a security plan under 49 CFR 172.800, and who have filed security plans requiring constant attendance of hazardous materials, because the California requirements are an obstacle to carrying out the requirements of 49 CFR 172.800 with respect to such motor carriers.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is issuing an emergency waiver order to persons conducting operations under the direction of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regions 3 or 4 or United States Coast Guard (USCG) Fifth or Seventh Districts within the Hurricane Florence emergency areas of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. The Waiver is granted to support the EPA and USCG in taking appropriate actions to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a threat to public health, welfare, or the environment caused by actual or potential oil and hazardous materials incidents resulting from Hurricane Florence. This Waiver Order is effective immediately and shall remain in effect for 30 days from the date of issuance.

This notice announces a public meeting of the Voluntary Information-sharing System (VIS) Working Group. The VIS Working Group will convene to discuss and identify recommendations to establish a voluntary information-sharing system.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

PHMSA published a notice in the Federal Register to seek public comments on a report developed to support improvements in gas and hazardous liquid pipeline risk models titled ``Pipeline Risk ModelingOverview of Methods and Tools for Improved Implementation'' (Pipeline Risk Modeling Report). PHMSA has received a request to extend the comment period to allow stakeholders more time to evaluate the notice. PHMSA has concurred with this request and has extended the comment period for an additional 30 days.

On December 8, 2017, PHMSA published a notice and request for comments in the Federal Register titled: ``Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility User Fee'' seeking comments from underground natural gas storage facility (UNGS) operators on a proposal to use UNGS annual report data in the user fee rate structure. PHMSA received two comments in the docket. We are publishing this notice to address the comments received and to announce that PHMSA has used UNGS annual report data about the number of wells in the user fee rate structure for the Pipeline Safety Fund's Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility Safety Account.

PHMSA is seeking public comment on its existing class location requirements for natural gas transmission pipelines as they pertain to actions operators are required to take following class location changes due to population growth near the pipeline. Operators have suggested that performing integrity management measures on pipelines where class locations have changed due to population increases would be an equally safe but less costly alternative to the current requirements of either reducing pressure, pressure testing, or replacing pipe. This request for public comment continues a line of discussion from a Notice of Inquiry published in 2013 and a report to Congress in 2016 regarding whether expanding integrity management requirements would mitigate the need for class location requirements.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) invites comments on its intent to request from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a revision to form PHMSA F 7000-1.1Annual Report for Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Systems, which is currently collected under OMB Control number 2137-0614.